Schlüsselwörter

Mental health of teenage mothers: impact on the next generation

Abstract

Background

Motherhood in adolescence is associated with risks for both the young mother and the children.

Objective

Presentation of the current state of research on the mental health of adolescent mothers and its effects on the development of their children.

Material and methods

Electronic database search in PubMed using various combined key terms such as “teenage pregnancy”, “adolescent pregnancy”, “teenage mother”, “child development”, “mother-child interaction”. Review of the literature of the sources found and discussion of current publications and databases of public institutions.

Results

In addition to psychosocial risks such as fewer education years due to family formation and lower incomes, young mothers also suffer more frequently from mental disorders, both before pregnancy and due to the additional burden of motherhood in their own developmental phase of youth. These can have unfavorable effects on the mother-child interaction and on the psychosocial and cognitive development of the children, thereby leading to the transgenerational transmission of risk factors.

Conclusion

In addition to primary prevention by avoiding teenage pregnancies, early identification of adolescent mothers and children at risk for early treatment and intervention is necessary.

Rafferty Y, Griffin KW, Lodise M (2011) Adolescent motherhood and developmental outcomes of children in early head start: the influence of maternal parenting behaviors, well-being, and risk factors within the family setting. Am J Orthopsychiatry 81:228–245CrossRefGoogle Scholar